At that very moment, Dian Wei and the others finally saw the tops of the trees clearly. This withered tree was approximately ninety thousand zhang tall, its entire section from the middle to the tip had turned black, as if struck by a powerful lightning bolt. This blackened appearance might well be the cause of the tree’s demise.
At the tree’s roots, Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo sat cross-legged, motionless. Dian Wei and his companions could distinctly hear their heartbeats, each pulse causing the thirteen yellow spiritual orbs on the tree to flash abruptly. The terrifying aura of energy shook them all.
As Dian Wei and the others approached, observing the still figures of Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo, they calmed themselves and waited silently. They could not discern the origins of the tree, nor why Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo were cultivating there. They could only wait.
Slowly, a tear fell from the corner of Xia Xin Yu's and Wang Zhuo's eyes simultaneously. The divine power within their bodies began to tremble violently, as if out of control.
The thirteen yellow spiritual orbs blazed with an increasingly powerful and blinding light. Countless starlight pierced through the firmament, and from the void, crimson blood strangely dripped down. An intangible killing intent instantly enveloped the surroundings, its immense might filling Dian Wei and the others with dread.
"Where exactly is this place? What is this withered tree? And those thirteen yellow spiritual orbs on its branches, that blurry phantom, this terrifying power, it can easily shatter us!" Wang Yun Xuan whispered, his head bowed in fear.
Not only him, but Dian Wei, Long Ju, and Yang You Ji also felt an intensely dense aura of death. The scattered starlight was enough to obliterate them countless times over.
"You have arrived!"
At this moment, Xia Xin Yu, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened her eyes. She tilted her head slightly, her brow furrowed, and looked at Dian Wei, Long Ju, and Yang You Ji.
As Xia Xin Yu spoke, Wang Zhuo beside her also opened his eyes. His gaze was filled with disappointment. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, as if words were stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken. He glanced at Xia Xin Yu beside him, then shook his head in disappointment, stood up, and gazed up at the withered tree soaring into the clouds!
"You saw it too, didn't you!"
Xia Xin Yu turned back, her brow furrowed as she looked at the disappointed Wang Zhuo.
"Indeed!"
"What I wanted to see, what I didn't want to see, and what I never imagined, I have seen it all!"
Wang Zhuo lowered his head and looked at Xia Xin Yu. "It seems we cannot reach the Immortal Realm anymore. Alas! The path to immortality is broken. What is the use of living another life!"
Dian Wei and the others, not understanding, looked at the two of them with confusion. Xia Xin Yu stood up, looked at the thirteen yellow spiritual orbs hanging on the tree, and after a moment of contemplation, spoke.
"When the three thousand planes were born, a golden stream of light descended from the supreme Immortal Realm. It entered the central region of the nascent three thousand planes directly. This golden stream of light carried much immortal energy, altering the foundations of the three thousand planes, making them gradually stronger and giving birth to the spiritual energy that allows beings to cultivate."
"Later, this stream of light that fell into the Three Thousand Dao Continent planes split into two. One part became the Heaven-Bearing Tree, the sole path for beings in the Three Thousand Dao Continent to ascend to the Immortal Realm, while the other part transformed into the Great Dao of the three thousand planes. Thus, the cultivation system of the three thousand planes was established, and all things came into being!"
"By the end of the ancient era, twelve immortals were born in the Three Thousand Dao Continent. As for the thirteenth, it was the mortal body of the Immortal Lord. They were all rulers of their era. They ascended to the Immortal Realm via the Heaven-Bearing Tree and left their mortal bodies behind, on the Heaven-Bearing Tree. Even when the Immortal Lord unified the Three Thousand Dao Continent planes, the Heaven-Bearing Tree showed no signs of withering; on the contrary, its branches and leaves were lush, its spiritual roots reaching tens of thousands of miles deep!"
"Strangely, after the Immortal Lord unified the Three Thousand Dao Continent, he secretly entered the core of the Three Thousand Dao Continent, the location of the Heaven-Bearing Tree. With just one glance, the condition of the Heaven-Bearing Tree deteriorated drastically. Within a few breaths, it began to show signs of withering. The Immortal Lord stayed for half an hour before reappearing in the Central Continent, sealing the Candle Dragon, refining the Great Dao of the three thousand planes, and transforming the Candle Dragon's eyes into the sun and moon of the Three Thousand Dao Continent."
"Later still, the Immortal Lord appeared in the core region and, with immense divine power, extracted the primordial spirit of the Heaven-Bearing Tree, harboring it deep within his sea of consciousness. This mortal body, he sealed away together with the primordial spirit of the Candle Dragon using his great divine power. The secret realm we have arrived at is where the Immortal Lord sealed the physical body of the Heaven-Bearing Tree!"
"At this point, I awoke!"
Xia Xin Yu shook her head.
"We have both seen much. Why the Heaven-Bearing Tree's condition plummeted the moment it saw the Immortal Lord, showing signs of withering, and why the Immortal Lord suddenly acted to seal the Candle Dragon, even extracting the primordial spirit of the nearly withered Heaven-Bearing Tree, these we do not know!"
"What happened between the Immortal Lord and the Candle Dragon at the end of the ancient era?"
Wang Zhuo shook his head in disappointment. They had both been preparing to step into the Immortal Realm in this lifetime, but unfortunately, all they saw before them was a broken path.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, one of the countless fly-sized yellow light points emanating from the cluster of yellow light that sealed the Immortal Lord's mortal body, vibrated strangely the moment Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo uttered the Immortal Lord's name. Abruptly, a heaven-shattering rainbow shot out from a light point, like a terrifying blood-red light, or perhaps a divine punishment descending from the heavens!
"This is bad, it must have alerted the Immortal Lord's mortal body!"
Xia Xin Yu and Wang Zhuo turned pale at this sight. The rainbow descending from the sky shattered the void.
"Now is not the time to hide!"
Wang Zhuo roared and took out an ancient wooden sword from his chest. It was covered in ancient runes and emitted a brownish-yellow divine light that shot up into the sky, growing larger and larger.
"Boom!"
Xia Xin Yu conjured a five-colored feather. The moment this feather appeared, everyone was astonished. It was a feather from a Phoenix Clan creature, an ancient artifact. In the entire Three Thousand Dao Continent, apart from Xia Xin Yu, no one else could produce a Phoenix Clan feather. A high-pitched cry tore through the sky, shattering the firmament for thousands of miles.
"Ah!"
Wang Zhuo spat out three drops of his heart's blood. The wooden sword, now infused with his heart's blood, unleashed its stored ancient power. A sword energy, combined with the manifested Phoenix Clan creature, merged their divine light, shattering the void. The terrifying sword energy directly slashed towards the fearsome rainbow descending from the sky.
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
Xia Xin Yu struck again, conjuring a drop of essence blood she had sealed in her previous life, the peak divine power essence blood from her most powerful past self.